Kitchen ramblings

Some of you have asked if my new kitchen will be white. Most of you know that the answer is YES!

(Old picture of my current kitchen. Decor is totally different now but I’m too busy designing my new kitchen to take a more recent picture of my current one!) :)

I have loved white kitchens all of my life. I’m proud to say that I loved them even when they weren’t the trend! I insisted on making our current kitchen white when we built our house ten years ago and at the time dark cabinets were all the rage. I love the clean look of white and I especially love that it is the perfect backdrop for any and all decor. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of white kitchens!

So speaking of my NEW white kitchen…it is off to a good start! Today was so fun. We met with our builder and cabinet guy for a couple of hours. I had so many pictures to show them – so many ideas of things I’d love to incorporate in my kitchen. I did change the plans from three ovens to two. I also made sure the microwave was in a prime location. :) I’m thinking of bagging the warmer too. Will I ever really use it?

(Kids! Your dino chicken nuggets are ready! Guess I’ll put them in the warmer until you get downstairs!)

;)

I mentioned in our meeting that I don’t exactly love to cook. They laughed and told me that with this kitchen it was time to start. They were on board with most of my ideas. But. They are trying to talk me out of my big island. And I think they might be right. When we first sat down with my architect my “house wish list” included a big kitchen and a big master closet. My architect went above and beyond my wish list and gave me a really big kitchen and a really big closet. Kitchen and clothes storage will not be a problem in this house! Because I have a large, square kitchen I was picturing one large island. My cabinet guy has been trying to convince me that I’d rather have two separate islands (each would still be plenty big) instead of one extremely large one. A few things he pointed out to me:

1) Two islands fit better filling up the space in our design. (It’s hard to explain this without sharing the floor plan – but he’s right on that one.)

2) A huge island can become an obstacle that is a pain to walk all the way around. Traffic doesn’t flow as well.

3) A huge island can be difficult to clean (hard to reach in the middle!).

4) With two islands specific zones are created (one island for food prep and one island for eating/entertaining).

5) Two islands would mean more cabinet space.

I think that last point is what sold me. As much as I love the look of one big island, I think they have me convinced! (Although I still keep going back and forth and probably will until I absolutely HAVE to make a decision since I suffer from DMD – decision making disorder.)

We discussed style for the cabinets in my kitchen and butler’s pantry along with different options for my oven/range/hood. I could NOT wipe the smile off of my face! Kenny was a good sport. He sat and nodded and smiled and let me take charge. He may have looked just a tad quesy whenever my cabinet guy said “that’s a great look…we can do that…it will just cost a bit more…” but I’m happy to say that he made it through the entire meeting without breaking into a cold sweat or passing out in his chair. Success!

Our next step is to decide on our kitchen appliances so we know exactly how much cabinet space we have. I’ve been debating our appliances so much over the last couple of weeks that I had a dream the other night about a Sub Zero fridge and a Wolf oven range. In my dream we had moved into our new house and the knobs on my oven range were all red and I wanted black. Then the new fridge wouldn’t open and I was stressed because Addison really wanted some string cheese. HA! I woke up thinking “black knobs and easy to open fridge door…got it.” I have a feeling that won’t be the last dream I have concerning this house. I can see why so many people say that when you build a house it is a part time job and becomes all consuming! Which is why I’m blogging about it tonight! I can’t get it out of my mind!

Another thing I think I was talked out of today was a built-in bench for my breakfast nook. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the look of benches in breakfast nooks….

Aren’t they charming!? But a few good points were brought to my attention:

1) When one person wants to get out, everyone has to shuffle out…2) Not super comfortable – especially for adults…3) Locked into this look…4) A pain to clean if someone spills something (a regular occurence for my crew).

So I’m thinking that as much as I love the look, function is key and a simple table and chairs will be most likely be filling my breakfast nook.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Does anyone have one large island or two regular sized islands? What do you like/dislike? Kitchen warmer – useful or not so much? What about benches for your dining nook? Pros/cons? Any other kitchen thoughts/suggestions? What would be a must have for you if you were designing a kitchen? Anyone else ever have a dream turned nightmare about not being able to open your new fridge when your daughter is in desperate need of some string cheese!? Talk about stress!

Comments

I have a eat in nook like the ones pictured. I love it. Yet- I will tell you that the things you mentioned are exactly what I deal with. My 2 year old is constantly dropping things on the cushion and it is a pain to keep clean. Also- there is NO flexibility in my set up because of the bench! It is nice though because the entire family sits on the bench and I do not worry about the lil man falling off a chair! lol

So exciting! Over here in Oz I love a blog ‘The house that A-M built’. A-M is currently in similar stages as you with her second house, check it out if you get time, she has great ideas and like you writes a really great blog. I’m with ‘Love being a Nonny’. Id create the look with furniture so if you don’t like it or when they go out of style, it’s gone in a flash! If i was getting my dream kitchen, I’d definitely have a computer nook in there, to access all my recipes I’ve pinned of course! :)

We have a large island bench – I love it. It has an overhang at one end with stools, the kids perch there while I cook and do homework or just chat to me. It totally works for our kitchen layout, but obviously you need to do what will work for yours.

Hi Erin, We have a warmer & have lived here for 5 yrs & I have yet to use it lol.Our island has the chairs & the kids eat there all the time. One thing I don’t like about my island is the stove is on it & its a double level island/ I would rather have one big flat island / maybe w/ a small sink?I am on Pinterest if you want to see my pins/ I have a category Home ideas where I have pinned things I like- I am under Maureen Dixon on Pinterest.I love the idea of a kitchen eating nook, But I think I would love a bay window w/ seating. And have chairs at the island for eating. Glad to hear you are planning a butlers pantry. I have a big pantry & LOVE it ! My husband laughs at how organized it is. But when things are organized Im happier LOL

LOVE LOVE reading your blog! We are building in the next few years and I love your ideas – can’t wait to see your hew home take shape!

We have a wolf and a sub zero. We have one with 4 burners, a skillet and grill. We love the skillet and use it multiple times a week. We actually like and use the grill a lot in the winter since I am in MA it is gets a bit cold to send hubby out to cook. You may not get a lot of use out of the grill but I would highly recomend the skillet.

Also, although the red knobs are standard, you can order black knobs for the stove – I just went to a Wolf distributer near me and picked them up (our kitchen is black and lime grean and the red was just clashing!)

I like the Sub Zero but not sure I really understand the appeal of them other than they look really cool:) One thing I hate is it is not magnetic so you can’t hang anything on it – I really want to get chalk board pannels for the front but have not convinced hubby to do this! They are also very pricy to fix – we had a standard maintenance done last year at 8 years old and it was over $500.

Oh my gosh you make me laugh. I have no advice but to keep those dreams going…I have my best thoughts in dreams. I LOVE nooks so much but get the drawbacks…but still, don’t know if that would stop me. It’s like fashion…sometimes pain and discomfort is worth it. :) (At least that’s what my BF and I used to tell each other when we’d wear mini-skirts in 30 degree spring weather with bare legs.

This is so exciting! I love hearing about kitchen plans, bring ’em on! I totally get you on white cabinetry. Ten years ago when we bought our first house and gutted the kitchen, we installed white cabinetry. I had never seen white cabinetry outside of a magazine, at that point in my life, and everyone we knew thought we were crazy. But it was gorgeous, and it always felt so clean. In our current home, I didn’t get to design the kitchen–I’m sure it was designed by a man who’d never prepped a meal in his life. It is big, with both an island and a huge bar. I have to go around the island to get to the range and the fridge, and back around the island to get to the sink. Whether you have one or two islands, I would recommend making sure you have some kind of prep sink available so you aren’t running back and forth to the sink. And in a big kitchen, I would take some type of refrigerated drawer/mini fridge over a warming drawer any day. It would make it so much easier to have a little refrigerator at my island, where I do the bulk of my food prep, instead of crossing the kitchen to the fridge over and over again. That’s really the key when you plan a big kitchen, minimizing the steps you are going to take while you are actually using it.

First off I am so jealous of your white kitchen that you are going to have! I just wanted to add that we have a big island and we love it. Ours is not in the middle of the kitchen though so it is used for entertaining and eating. In fact the only time we use the dining room is if there is too many people for everyone to eat at the island. It is perfect for playing board games and laying out food for parties too. But saying all that, I never use it for food prep so if that is what you want it for I would probably go with two smaller islands.

We have a really big island and I’ve always said I would have it be smaller. Just because you can’t reach the middle and it doesn’t seem to be the optimal use of space. I never thought of 2 islands, that could be cool. I love the look of built-ins. No idea of functionality but they sure look good! Our sub zero freezer gets on my nerves- I hate waiting that few seconds for it to reseal every time I close it bc inevitably I’ve forgotten something and need to open it again. Good luck!

I’ve been reading your blog for awhile. :-) First, I have pinned a lot of white kitchens on pinterest – maybe you’ve seen them all but if you want to check some out: http://pinterest.com/clark050405/

I don’t like the idea of the bench. I love the look of them but not the practicality or function of them. I don’t even think they are that comfortable. In dream house, my breakfast area would be a bumped out alcove next to the kitchen, round w/ lots of windows for a big round table.

I’m not sure about the 2 vs 1 island. I do prefer islands that are all one level and have a prep sink only. I don’t like the main sink or stove to be part of the island. Sometimes things get a mess and I don’t want the mess there.

I do like the idea of a mini fridge – my friends use it to store juice boxes, sodas etc. – very convenient for self serve.

I just finished reading your blog from start to finish a few weeks ago and it’s the one of the first blogs I read every day! Thanks for keeping me entertained!

I can’t wait to see the finished product. I have a fairly large island and waste so much time walking around it every day. I would definately go with two.

I WOULD DEFINATELY get a warmer! I don’t have one but my sister does. She doesn’t cook much either, but it’s great when entertaining. It may work well for you later, say, when your girls are at an activity during dinner and you aren’t home when they get home; you can just leave their dinner in the warmer. I SO wish I had one.

I’ve been reading your blog for a while, but this is my first time commenting. First off, your blog always puts a smile on my face, so thank you!

I wanted to put in another vote for a warmer (I can’t speak to any of the other features). My parents have one, and like a previous poster said, it’s very helpful for entertaining. I’m not a super skilled cook, but I think that’s part of the reason I could benefit from a warmer — I have trouble timing the preparation of different dishes when entertaining, and this way, you don’t have to worry about something getting cold before you’re ready to serve. This is part of the reason I love my slow cooker – so helpful when you have young children to just have something staying warm and ready to serve/eat when you are! Plus, they don’t take up much space and it sounds like your new kitchen will be plenty big. I would definitely include the warmer.

I don’t have one, but I would nix the warmer…doesn’t seem necessary for anyone unless you expect to do an extraordinary amount of entertaining and dinner parties.

My mom has a very large kitchen with a big island, I think it works well for her…but it is a lot to clean. She has her dishwasher, garbage cabinet and sink/disposal in the island, she planned and built it all. When I am there cleaning, my arm gets a workout! I would have a hard time deciding as well, but your builder made good points. I think I would like the aesthetic of a large island, but 2 smaller ones might be more functional.

I have read your blog for a long time, but never commented. I love islands…don’t currently have one but hope to. My mom recently remodeled her kitchen and has two islands. I am not sure how yours would be layed out, but hers is situated with one behind the other, but I find it annoying. When we are there for holidays is seems like the flow is weird since neither island is large enough to place all the food dishes. I think one larger island would have worked out better. I agree that you could get an island that is just too large, but one seems better than two in my opinion. And I am guessing that you are going to have plenty of storage space in the new house anyway to not miss the few extra cabinets a second island would give you. I agree with your builder that a breakfast nook bench will be a pain. They look pretty, but seem very impractical for anything other than photos! A warming draw seems pointless to me unless you plan to entertain alot or think it will be useful to your family since Kenny probably works late some nights. I know that my husband often works late so it might be nice to stick his dinner in the warming drawer for him to eat when he gets home, but I think a microwave works too!

Erin, please don’t let them talk you out of a nook OR the big island!!!!! I’ve seen and worked in kitchens with two islands and I personally thought it was useless and plain looked weird. Yes, you have young kids now… but soon as you know they grow so fast and if you guys are planning on living in this home for a while (which I assume you are) stick to your guns you won’t regret it! GET.THE.NOOK. :)

Wow, already commenting a second time… I forgot to mention that I have a friend who just remodeled and put in a subzero fridge and it is impossible to open if you forget something and need to reopen again quick…total pain!

Thought I would share this link with you (http://thefarmchicks.typepad.com/farmchicks/our-farmhouse). Her name is Serena and although her house is farmhouse style it is Gorgeous!, she did an AHH-mazing job with storage in her kitchen. Especially with her big island. Not to mention it is an all white kitchen to boot!

I had considered a warming drawer too, but then decided against it and got my two ovens. So glad I did not get the warming drawer. I don’t think I would ever use it. A friend has one and she only uses it to store stuff!I do love my double wall ovens. Cookie baking is a snap!

Another comment. One thing I wish I had done was put in two dishwashers. I feel like all I do is fill and empty the dishwasher now.Have fun with all the planning and I am sure whatever you decide on will look great!

Beautiful! I can’t wait to see the progress. Have you thought about laminated fabric on the bench pads? A good friend has pads that are laminated and it’s not shiny at all and most upholsterers will add it to any fabric for a little extra. Just a thought! :)

Love following your journey on the house building. We are in the process of buying and selling. We thought of building, but the cost & time didn’t work. I think it was meant to be as we found the perfect house for our family in our price range!

In our current home I built a bench with my husband, but ended up taking it out after 2 years because it is limiting. We loved it though & the cushion can be cleaned or washed. You can have zip off covers made. The kids loved it and it gave us more space as the table can be pushed closed to the wall, overlappping the bench. Not sure in my new home that i will put one in though. Thinking of a big bench that is not stationary as I don’t like to leave things one way for that long. I suspect you are similiar.

As for the SubZero, my family had one growing up- it was a great fridge, but as a kid I could not get it open. My mom was constantly helping us. She said for small kids she would not get one. My new home as a GE Profile and it looks like a SubZero, but is a little easier to open.

Oh Erin, we have a huge, I mean huge island. My hubby is 6’5″ and he can lay on it comfortably, with room to spare, we did a test once during a party, another story sometime. Anyway, huge islands are only good for parties, when you spread out buffets. Other than that they are just huge and you always need something on the other side so you just run around in circles all day. I am not kidding. I once read where Martha Stewart said the same thing-ish and we were building this home and I was like, “whatever” I want the biggest one I can get, boy was I wrong! We do have an overhang on one end and my kids sit there all the time to snack, eat lunch, and color, do homework, etc. That part is nice. If I had it to do over again, I would do one about half the size just to cut down on the circling aspect. LOL!

I agree with your builder on the island – I would either make 2 or one medium sized island. And I would a table and chair rather than the built in – getting in and out is a pain and the clean up – looks great but not very practical with kids and as you get older.

I have always loved white cabinets too! :) I would go with 2 islands myself. I’ve seen it done before and thought it was genius. Then when you do entertain, it’s easy to have the food on one island and the drinks on the other. I don’t know the layout (obviously) of your kitchen, but the one I saw had a bigger sized island and the other one was narrower- more like an oversized buffet table.And since you asked, if I were designing a big kitchen, I would totally have a great big refrigerator (or 2, but I cook a lot) and a great big freezer. And I would have a mini fridge in one of islands for water bottles or whatever. Good luck! I can’t wait to see it!

I Have one big island (9 feet, rectangle with 5 stools). I love it, love it! I was worried it would be a big obstacle, but it isnt at all and it looks sharp. I love having 5 seats there since we actually do use it to eat dinner most of the time and for homework, projects, etc. When I bake, I can spread everything out too. So nice to have huge counter space! The only thing i wish is that it was more of a square space so that we were all sitting around 3 sides instead of in a long line. Better for talking, but my layout did not allow for that. Good luck!

Ah! I’m so excited for you! I’m having a hard time picturing the two islands, I wish I could see your floor plan. But since it’s not in front of me and I don’t really know what the two island thing would be like, I’ll just tell you this – I LOVE my huge island! And you have seen mine and you know it’s huge and I LOVE it! It is by far my favorite thing about my kitchen. Yes, you do have to walk further to get around it, but it’s never bothered me one bit. I love the space and a love all the drawers. 15 drawers in that thing! And they are huge drawers! My suggestion in making your decision is this: go with what YOU think LOOKS best! Knowing how you are about your kitchen and cooking, I think it would bug you more to not have the look you want more than anything else.

p.s. – also love my big island for hosting parties/company, makes it so easy to do a self serve buffet line! Also think of all the cookies El will be baking, she’ll want the big space for her baking. :) In all seriousness my love for baking is what made me want the big island. And even if you don’t love baking think of all the space you’ll have for busting out those Christmas pretzel hugs! ;)

I just know I am going to die over your house! I am just giddy for you!

Erin, your kitchen is sure to be fabulous!!! We did a major remodel on our kitchen 3 years ago and I think I have used my warming drawer maybe two or three times. Definitely not one of those “must haves”. But I do seriously recommend that you get a pot filler on the backsplash behind your range. THAT you will definitely use quite a bit – even if just boiling pasta for the kids. I didn’t think I would, but I love it.

We have a Thermador Pro range with 4 burners and a skillet in the middle. The skillet is fantastic (great for pancakes, stir fry’s, grilled cheese), but in 3 years, we’ve already had the range repaired 3 times. Of course, now it’s out of warranty. No problem with our Thermador dishwasher though.

Glad I’m not the only one in love with white cabinets!! We’re in the process of building a house right now, and white cabinets were an upgrade. And of course the granite that I fell in love with was an upgrade too. SO glad the hubs let me get nearly every upgrade that I wanted, love that man!The hardest part is waiting for the house to be built, I just cannot wait! And I have no motivation to pack up my house right now because we’re moving in with my parents until our new house is finished since our old house sold so quickly. Good luck with the plans, it’s so exciting!

What about one bench for the kitchen nook? And if you make sure the fabric on the cushions can be removed and thrown in the washer, it wouldn’t be too bad. I LOVE kitchen nooks… I say keep the nook, but that’s just me. If you only had one bench on the one side, you could put the littler ones back there–it’s more of a compromise. Putting say, 3 kiddos on the bench puts only one of them in the middle scootching to get out instead of the whole family when you have 3 sides of benches. It’d look like a pretty window seat– to serve as additional seating when entertaining when the table is moved out of the way.

I love my kitchen and think it is fabulous that you are thinking it all out on such a thorough level – of course you would! We did some extra features with my blindness but I love, love my pantry that is huge. I also love my double ovens and heating — although I am not a regular cooker for the parties and family gatherings so awesome! We have a large island but have a raised area that works wonderful for entertaining and serving. Also, hides the kitchen sink if needed — that is not an issue for you, I know! So excited for you!

I am a cook. I cook daily for my large family! And monthly for our ginormous extended family. Not to mention ward parties, YW events, and scout events.

Don’t waste space on a warmer. If you have double ovens you will be fine! An oven set between 150 and 200 is…a warmer. And a big one. Works wonders!

I would do the big island. Just make sure your sink, stove, fridge are all on two perpendicular sides. You should be able to draw a triangle between the three for the best efficiency in the kitchen. I personally like a multi-level island with the seating up higher. But I think that is preference.

I also echo a couple others and say put in deep sinks, a prep sink with disposal on the island (helps with having to not walk around!), and a pot filler behind your range.

I hope you learn to love cooking because you are going to have an AMAZING kitchen. Good luck!

Okay, so why no mention of 2 dishwashers? I would definitely go for the double oven/warmer, but my in-laws have 2 dishwashers, and I love it!. A traditional sized one next to the main sink and a half-sized one that is perfect for glasses or light meals that is located in their long rectangular island. Have you been to the Miraval homes that opened off Carmel Valley Rd? Talk about a large island gone wrong. They are huge and very square and completely undesirable.

I love the breakfast nook idea, but instead of doing it as a breakfast nook, do it somewhere else in the house as a reading nook. Like in your girls’ rooms. Then they could sit there and talk to the man on the moon every night before they go to bed (do you remember that old show? I’m starting to think I was the only one that ever watched it!). Besides, this way you still get the look, but without the associated issues.

I’m sure you’re going to have comment overload, but here’s my two cents – we’ve lived in 4 different houses and built 2 of them. I would say definitely split the island into 2. An overly large one does look awesome, but not really practical – all of your builder/architects points are totally right on. Also, think about the kind of edge you want if you’re going with granite. I would strongly discourage you from choosing and ogee edge. It catches all of the crumbs when wiping down the counter and is extremely annoying. (The one thing in our current kitchen my husband chose, figures.)As far as the warmer goes, get rid of it. It is a complete waste and I do a lot of cooking. So based on your not so much love of cooking, you’ll never use it.And the nook, just like the ginormous island, it looks good in pictures, but not practical and a pain in the you know where to clean.We always say, our last kitchen was just pretty, but the one we have now is pretty and practical. And, as you know, practical is key with 3 kids!

We have a 9 ft by 5 ft island and we love it! The thing that was important to me was not to have seating just along one side. We use ours as our casual dining table so we have 5 chairs around the end so we can see and talk to each other (if that makes sense!)

We use it for everything- food prep, school work, parties, dinner and more. When we have parties we have to take the chairs away because otherwise that’s the only place people will sit.

Oh- we have a warmer too which I do use when I made dinner and my husband is late getting home from work.

We’ve had a built-in nook for 16 years now, and we love it. The kids just slid down and crawled under the table if they needed to get out until they got too big! really, the only complaint is exactly what you’ve already mentioned. The spilling is a hassle not matter the seating set-up. It’s the getting up to let others out. But you’ll come to a point where the kids are gone, and you’ll love the nook even more! We LIVE in ours!

I don’t know why, but I was pretty sure that your new kitchen cabinets will be white. You’re right – white is just timeless. When we bought our first house last December we also got white cabinets and I just love them. Every time I enter my new kitchen I just can’t help but smile:

I love reading your blog-thanks for the entertainment (and tips). We gutted an older home and one of my favorite things about the kithchen is our Frigidaire Twins. I would so reccomend going with a BIG fridge/freezer. http://kimmeikle.blogspot.com/2008/07/tah-dah.html

Erin, first off I LOVE white kitchens also! I’d suggest getting a double full-size fridge and freezer. I don’t now how easily accessible your grocery store is but out here in the country, we need lots of room (especially for baking purposes)! I love the idea of two smaller islands just for the last reason (more cabinet space) so go for it!

I have a question for you. I am currently in the process of purchasing a new home and I saw your stainless appliances. My husband loves the look while I am not completely sold on it because of fingerprints, they are SO annoying. Do you find yourself wiping down your appliances aside from what’s necessary?

I’m catching up on some old posts. Instead of doing the full nook in my kitchen, I did one bench seat under the window with a big cushion, then chairs around the rest of the table. I love it! I can’t wait to see your finished product. I’m a lover of a white kitchen and painted cabinets!

Welcome to Sunny Side Up where I share my obsession with organization and my love for home design and decor. My husband and I just finished building a house and I can't wait to put my spin on the place and share it all with you. I have three little ones and love everything about motherhood. Except the cooking. I've never enjoyed the cooking. :) Like the city we live in, things are generally pretty sunny around here. Thanks for stopping by!